Chinese Android Phone

[coryg]

Hey,

I was thinking of buying a new Chinese Android phone. I know that all of the newest phones that are sold inside Mainland China do not come with Google Play preinstalled. I have a Huawei P8 that I was able to easily install Google Play by downloading the APK. After a quick google search, I have found that many people have posted complaints online about how they cannot do this with the 2017 and 2018 phones from Huawei. Has anyone purchased a new phone and been able to install Google Play without rooting the phone? I know many of my friends have told me just to download the apk files but that seems like a PITA if I want to have all of my apps up to date. Thanks for your time.
-Cory

[Jasonwithabs]

I remember rooting is required on all 3 of my Android phone in order to install Google play.

[Charlie]

Unfortunately if you’re interested in Google Play on an Android device, it is a hassle here in China. One of the main advantages of iPhone here is that you don’t need to spend time messing with that sort of thing. You can get Google Play working great on your Android device here, but it will require some knowledge and messing around.

[coryg]

Thanks for the replies. May just wait til the summer and buy an unlocked phone in the US.
-Cory

[coryg]

Thought I would add some useful info. Just purchased a new Sony phone and the Sony after sales center at Taisheng Road South switched the firmware to the Hong Kong settings which included all of the apps that would be included on a phone if you purchased it in North America. They did this for free. The woman said that a lot of people do this.

Pretty sure the other companies will do this as well if you ask.

[Author]

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